The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Littlefinger had no idea what answer Lord Tywin wanted to hear.

Before being ‘escorted’ by the Mountain, the Mountain wanted Littlefinger to actively lead the ‘framing of the Lannisters for the murder of Hand Jon Arryn’ towards Cersei and Jaime, but this was resolutely rejected by Littlefinger.

Littlefinger believed that if he knew about Cersei and Jaime's incest, the chances of being executed by Tywin would be even greater.

Littlefinger told the Mountain that the less one knew about the Lannister family's dirty secrets, the safer one would be.

In the end, the Mountain agreed to let Littlefinger make his own decisions based on the actual situation.

So, the topic that Littlefinger wanted to avoid, the topic that the Mountain wanted Littlefinger to bring up, was brought up by Lord Tywin himself.

What did this mean? What answer did Tywin want to know?

Littlefinger could not discern any clues from Lord Tywin's words or actions: Lord Tywin was expressionless, a solid block of iron at all times.

Littlefinger couldn't know what answer Tywin wanted to hear.

He decided to remain unchanged in the face of all changes: tell the truth.

Facing Tywin, telling the truth was easier than lying.

Telling the truth would not create loopholes and could withstand questioning and scrutiny. Lying, as long as there was a slight flaw in one place, if Lord Tywin was sensitive to it, the Duke would not give anyone any chance to argue.

“Lord Tywin, I have heard rumors about Cersei and Jaime.”

“Oh, how long have you heard them for?!” Lord Tywin's words had many changes, but his tone and expression never changed.

“Two years!”

“Are these rumors widespread?”

“Not widespread.”

“Have none of the King’s two brothers heard these rumors?”

“I estimate they have also heard them.”

“Oh!” Tywin was shocked in his heart, but remained calm on the surface. He realized that perhaps he had taken the problem a little too seriously. The King's two brothers had heard the rumors about Cersei and Jaime, so why hadn't the King himself known? Were the two brothers disloyal, not of the King’s blood?

Lord Tywin knew the King's character very well. If he knew about this, he would definitely be furious and then cut off Cersei and Jaime's heads and stick them on spears. There was no doubt about this!

“Have Stannis and Renly heard the rumors?” Tywin confirmed again.

“I estimate… they have heard something.” Littlefinger said.

“They didn’t tell the rumors to the King?”

“I don’t know. I only know that the King definitely hasn’t heard the rumors. Lord Tywin, since they are rumors, Stannis and Renly certainly wouldn’t take them to heart.”

“Stannis would take it to heart, Renly wouldn’t,” Tywin said.

This sentence hit the nail on the head.

Littlefinger also thought so, but, in front of Lord Tywin, don't show off your cleverness. Many things don't need to be said, Lord Tywin will think of them himself.

“Stannis left the palace after the death of Hand Jon Arryn because King Robert once again gave the power to handle government affairs to Renly instead of him.”

“Stannis is the Master of Ships, in charge of the navy; Renly is the Master of Laws, in charge of law,” the Duke said.

“Yes!”

Stannis was King Robert's younger brother. His personality was as hard as iron and he was very difficult to get along with. He also didn't have any friends. According to the law and the tradition of family inheritance, after Robert Baratheon took the throne, the heir to Storm's End of the Baratheon family should have been Stannis, but Robert didn't like Stannis. He ignored the law and the tradition of family inheritance and passed Storm's End to his younger brother Renly.

The younger brother Renly, besides being handsome and kind, good at playing, talking, singing, and dancing, and very likable, had no ability at all. He was just a very beautiful embroidered pillow.

The older brother Stannis was different. He couldn't play, drink, talk, sing, dance, or be likable, but he was capable. He had once led nearly a hundred times fewer troops than the enemy in the usurper war launched by Robert, Jon, and Eddard sixteen years ago, and resisted Mace Tyrell's 100,000 troops in the Reach with both waterways and land routes completely cut off.

Without support or supplies, he ate rats, peeled bark, dug up grass roots, and finally ate the corpses of the soldiers who died in battle, repelling hundreds of enemy attacks and thwarting the conspiracies of the surrender faction, resolutely refusing to surrender even when the close aides around him died in battle, starved to death, or died of illness. Duke Mace Tyrell had no way to deal with him except besieging the city.

A year later, Stannis finally waited for Eddard Stark's reinforcements, relieving the siege of Storm's End.

Stannis was a stubborn and tenacious person like iron, but he was very unpopular. King Robert didn't like him, and Tywin knew this. Obviously, if Stannis had heard the rumors, then the only reason he didn't tell the King was that he hadn't found any evidence.

Stannis was a person who would not easily believe rumors and would insist on finding evidence before speaking.

“What about Varys the Spider? He is the master of whisperers in King's Landing, little birds fly all over the city, there is nothing he doesn't know in the world, hasn't he heard the rumors about Cersei and Jaime?”

“He has naturally heard them.”

“Oh!”

This was very strange!

*

The master of whisperers Varys was a very, very powerful person. He would not be so superficial as to not investigate after hearing rumors. Since the incest of Cersei and Jaime was true, with Varys's ability, it was absolutely impossible for him not to find out.

If anyone in the city knew about Cersei and Jaime's affair first, it must be Varys without a doubt.

However, strangely, why didn't the King know at all?

Didn't Varys's intelligence agency serve the King?

Then who did he serve?

The more Lord Tywin thought about it, the more suspicious he became! Ideas kept flashing in his mind.

His daughter and son had committed a heinous crime by the King's side in King's Landing, and yet the members of the small council who had heard these 'rumors' all strangely chose to remain silent.

Littlefinger didn't speak—Littlefinger was a faction of his own, he didn't serve the King, he only served himself.

Stannis didn't speak—he resented his royal brother and would only speak after finding evidence. But with Stannis's difficult personality, it was difficult for him to find evidence without the help of others.

Varys didn't speak—??? Assuming Varys knew the truth, and he would definitely know the truth, then why didn't he speak?

Lord Tywin couldn't figure out why! In King's Landing, as long as Robert was there, his strength was the strongest.

Why didn't Varys tell the King?

Tywin didn't know why, but he was certain of one thing: Varys must not be loyal to the King, otherwise this matter would have been exposed long ago, and with the King's bravery and ferocity, Cersei and Jaime would have already been beheaded.

Grand Maester Pycelle didn't speak—Pycelle admired Tywin, he had always hoped that the kingdom would be ruled by Lord Tywin. He had worked with Lord Tywin for twenty years, and Lord Tywin knew that Grand Maester Pycelle would not say anything unfavorable to the Lannisters or do anything unfavorable to the Lannisters.

Renly didn't speak—Renly was just a child who only knew how to have fun, not worth mentioning.

The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Barristan Selmy the Bold, didn't speak—Although his fame was known throughout the Seven Kingdoms, he was upright and fearless, and his martial arts were superb, but he was just a martial artist with straw in his brain. Perhaps the rumors hadn't even reached his ears, or perhaps he just didn't suspect it at all.

Lord Tywin calmly sorted out the kingdom's members of the small council, and he realized that the thing he was most worried about might not need to be worried about so much—because at least one thing he could clearly judge—there wasn't a single loyal, upright, and talented and resourceful person by the King's side.

Varys, Littlefinger, and Pycelle had talent and resourcefulness, but they were obviously not loyal to the King. They were not loyal or upright.

Stannis, Renly, and Barristan were loyal and trustworthy, but they did not have talent and resourcefulness, one was stubborn, one was ignorant, and one was recklessly brave.

*

Littlefinger didn't dare to look away. He kept looking at Lord Tywin, but he didn't know that his short conversation with Lord Tywin had made Lord Tywin understand the current situation of all the courtiers.

Tywin, who was hired by the Targaryen King as the Hand of the King at the age of twenty—he was the only person Littlefinger feared, and the only person Grand Maester Pycelle, the four-generation royal advisor, admired—his unparalleled wisdom and ability to understand the world were unmatched.

Lord Tywin was very satisfied with this situation in the dynasty.

If these members of the small council hadn't been harboring their own ghosts, the clever ones were not loyal or upright, and the loyal and upright ones were not clever, Cersei and Jaime would already be dead.

The King was also not a difficult person to deal with. It could be seen from the fact that he had never asked about government affairs since he sat on the Iron Throne, only cared about eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling, that he was not a talented and ambitious person. He had conquered the country, but he did not have the ability to manage it. The royal family's accumulated debts already explained everything. This was still because Hand Jon Arryn had found Littlefinger, who could grind a gold dragon into two, to be the master of coin, otherwise, the entire royal family would have collapsed due to being unable to make ends meet due to huge debts.

Lord Tywin finished calculating the overall situation and understood. He looked at Littlefinger kneeling in front of him: “Lord Petyr Baelish, there are two kinds of people I don’t kill, do you know what kinds of people they are?”

Littlefinger shook his head. He had never thought about this question. Although with his quick wit he could think of some optional answers, but, why bother? This kind of question was not a question to be taken seriously, it was just that Lord Tywin needed someone to cooperate with him to reveal the standard answer in the Duke's heart.

“Lord Tywin, I don’t know!” Littlefinger’s tone was sincere, and his expression was humble.

Tywin looked outside the study door: “Go open the door and let Ser Gregor come in and tell you.”

“Yes, Lord!” Littlefinger stood up, turned his back, and the expression on his face suddenly relaxed.

He went to open the door, and his eyes met the Mountain's. The two understood each other, and they had passed the test.

The Mountain strode in, and Littlefinger next to him looked like a dwarf.

“Ser Gregor, tell Lord Petyr Baelish, what kind of people are the two kinds of people I don’t kill?”

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